Voice of the Coptshttps://www.voiceofthecopts.org
A Voice for the Egyptian Christian MinorityThu, 15 Nov 2018 15:41:23 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.9One year, one kilometer apart … same persecution of Coptshttps://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/press-releases/one-year-one-kilometer-apart-same-persecution-of-copts/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/press-releases/one-year-one-kilometer-apart-same-persecution-of-copts/#respondSun, 04 Nov 2018 14:39:27 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23271Once again, we are forced to report another deadly Islamic attack on Egyptian Copts. This latest attack on November 2 is almost an exact copy of the one that took place in the same location nearly one year ago.

A group of Coptic tourists from Al-Minya and Suhag, Upper Egypt, in three minibuses left the Monastery of Saint Samuel after their visit and prayers when two off-road vehicles filled with terrorists sped out of the desert to obstruct the caravan.

The first minibus escaped the scene sparing all the passengers after first slowing down when the driver believed that two military-like vehicles approaching him at high speed carrying uniformed men with machine guns were legitimate Egyptian military. The driver only realized they were terrorists at the very moment they opened fire on his windshield.

This driver also reported that the terror vehicles ambushed the second bus in the caravan to entrap it. The Muslims broke into it and forced the passengers to step outside while the third minibus was able to flee the ambush.

As per one survivor of the second bus, the Muslim men removed all cell phones from passengers and asked them to renounce their Christian faith and recite the following Islamic Shahada:

“I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

All Copts refused to convert to Islam. As a result, the Muslims opened gunfire on them murdering seven Christians and injuring thirteen. While the third bus fled, the Muslims fired into it, but the bus and passengers were able to escape the scene unscathed.

In May of 2017, a similar tragedy took place just one kilometer away from this incident when 28 Copts were killed and many injured. Copts paid a further price in the aftermath of that tragic event when the government halted all visits to their holy site for an extended period of time.

At the same time, a checkpoint of military soldiers and Egyptian police was installed at the entrance of the road heading out through the desert to the monastery, and only much later did the government allow visits to begin once again. This checkpoint was vacant when the three buses entered the road for their November 2 pilgrimage that ended in death.

Eyewitnesses reported that law enforcement never intervened against the attackers nor attempted to arrest them when police finally reached the crime scene.

As with all previous attacks targeting Christians, after this tragic crime the Al-Sisi government propaganda machine emphasized that the goal of this attack was to divide Christians and Muslims in order to damage the unity of the country.

The Egyptian media cannot make claims to a goal that directly contradicts eyewitness testimonies that clearly show a religious motivation for the hijackers. Furthermore, if attacks on Egyptians occur to divide the country Christians would never be the constant target without exception.

Al-Sisi, who was able to clear the field of opposing candidates in the recent election making one arrest must now do his job and make arrests. In addition, offer real protection for the Copts.

Have the Coptic Orthodox Church leaders responded to this heinous crime? A statement was made by the Coptic pope and various bishops. In short, their words proclaimed satisfaction with martyrdom. There is reluctance to object and willingness to accept and submit to Islam’s religious murder.

During the recent general assembly of the U.N. and the visit of President Al-Sisi to New York, Coptic bishops and priests urged all Copts to visit the U.N. to show support of Egypt’s president. This time the same clergy must urge Copts to stand up for themselves against the escalating violence inflicted upon “infidel” Copts by Islam’s adherents.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/media/shannon-taylor-on-the-conversation-with-ashraf-ramelah/feed/0My Story – The journey that opened my heart to the Coptic crisis outside of Egypthttps://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/my-story-the-journey-that-opened-my-heart-to-the-coptic-crisis-outside-of-egypt/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/my-story-the-journey-that-opened-my-heart-to-the-coptic-crisis-outside-of-egypt/#respondFri, 27 Jul 2018 01:16:51 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23253After interviewing Coptic religious refugees residing in temporary camps in southern Italy and compiling and publishing their stories in our Series #1 – 22 (please see links below), I now share with you my own personal story of coming to the West that generated my heartfelt interest in initiating the La Casa Futura project.

Cairo Mosques

I was born into a Christian Orthodox family and spent my childhood in a Coptic-majority neighborhood in Cairo. I was an introspective child and during my school years stayed alert to my surroundings in order to survive the street. I reacted to what I saw and heard with small rebellions. Like the horse I use to gallop alongside the Pyramid of Giza, I reared up against the restrictions and prejudices of the system that demanded my conformity.

Some of my tension was naturally due to my early pursuit of the independence I sought from my parents, but primarily I was focused upon the much deeper and more insidious problems I learned about my country. As a Coptic Christian in Egyptian society, I was born into “dhimmitude,” a subservient class to Islam. This status was a barrier to anything I could dream of for my future – guaranteed — and along with this came the underlying presence of fear — constant fear in spite of the courage I sometimes displayed.

It was not my imagination that caused me to be fearful but real concerns. The aurora “prayers” of Cairo woke me early every morning around 4 o’clock. The cacophony of competing supplicants blasted from the loud speakers atop the minarets of neighboring mosques. The tempest violated the privacy of my quiet bedroom and disturbed my equilibrium for the rest of the day. I was forced every morning of my life to begin my day with their curses — the few words I could discern out of the entanglement of overlapping cries. Actually, this was the least of my problems.

My dreams were big. The “program” the “infidels” were forced to follow would automatically limit them. There was no way to change this. Blending in was impossible. The Arabic language spoken by Copts in Egyptian society made use of certain expressions and idioms that were immediate identifiers. It wasn’t even necessary for the authorities to ask for one’s religious I.D. card in order to treat a Copt as an outcast.

Therefore, all of us — the Copts — were left with exclusion, discrimination and intimidation. We were observed coming and going from church, regarded as inferior when making a purchase, rejected without explanation on our applications, and subject to physical attacks. This was in the decades of the 1950’s and 60’s. Today, one could say it is worse.

Later, I was blocked from certain schools, sports clubs, the aviation academy, and planning a political career. So finally, I discovered my way out of Egypt. After enrolling in the Leonardo Da Vinci Institute, an Italian architectural school in Cairo, I decided to move to Italy after completing my second year of study.

In order to accomplish this move without the support of my family, my sacrifice was great. As a boy of middle-class upbringing, I never lacked anything. The weekly allowances my father provided me so that I could use city buses and buy books and supplies now went into my savings. I walked to and from my destinations and scrimped on paper and pencils and never attended the movie theatre again. After overcoming many more obstacles that led me to confront Egyptian authorities on my own in order to leave, I made it to Rome with thirty dollars in my pocket. I had nowhere to turn for help.

Italians were open and welcoming. This was well before today’s mass immigration had devastated Italian social services and threatened citizen safety. They were willing to embrace me, take a risk and open opportunities for me. Today, they are still willing to do that for others but with much more reserve and selectiveness. The culture has been assaulted and a greater level of sensitivity is required by immigrants to prove to Italians they are able and willing to assimilate one at a time.

This led me to create and begin the La Casa Futura project for young Egyptians. They desperately need a viable path to transition from refugee camps into Italian life and find independence. Egyptian Copts are the culture of Egypt with the basis for understanding and merging with Western culture and with this most essential distinction differ from economic refugees coming to the West from Islamic nations through mass migration. The Christian Copts are not in league with the Islamic religious-political system but seek instead to detach from its grip.

Many years after my own journey from Egypt I am helping others take similar steps to begin their journeys to the freedom of the West. It is not hard to see just how much more difficult it is to do today given the politicization of such movement due to mass migration. This is why La Casa Futura, which is the only solution currently in existence for Coptic religious refugees, must succeed.

But I can’t do this alone. I need your help, any help you can give, and my promise to you and to young Egyptians is that La Casa Futura will be there to fill the needs of young Christians coming from Egypt seeking a new start. Overlooked by international humanitarian aid that is already overwhelmed , Christian Copts outside of Egypt have only one concrete solution, and that is La Casa Futura.

Please donate today

Donate for La casa Futura

Thank you.

The La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial phase of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds with individual donations.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/my-story-the-journey-that-opened-my-heart-to-the-coptic-crisis-outside-of-egypt/feed/0The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series No.22 of 22https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-22-of-22/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-22-of-22/#respondTue, 17 Jul 2018 00:14:33 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23249The following narratives introduce individuals who are detained in refugee camps. They are in desperate need of the La Casa Futura project currently underway by Voice of the Copts. Egyptian youths have been uprooted and displaced for various reasons all related to religious persecution. Names have been changed to protect identities. Narratives are based on true accounts of actual events.

marsa-matroh

For 35 years, Afaf’s Coptic community was waiting for a permit to build a church. After demonstrating patience for so long, the Coptic villagers became frustrated with the thought of waiting any longer. They began to re-think the use of their property and decided to request a permit to build an orphanage instead. The permit was granted.

The Copts began building the structure, and everything was going fine until the laborers reached the top of the building to begin framing the cupola. Although Copts were within their legal bounds, the cupola was seen as an offense to their Muslim neighbors.

After prayers on Friday afternoon, Muslims came directly from their mosque service to the orphanage under construction carrying cans of kerosene, torches and Molotov cocktails. Some of them stacked piles of wood from the construction site and set it ablaze while others tossed the cocktails up to the framed cupola and set it on fire.

Gun shots were fired into the air to kick start the festivities — their normal practice to intimidate the church community. They ended their fun with yelps of “Allah u Akbar” — giving honor to Allah. None of these folks were declared jihadists but just ordinary citizens of an Egyptian village.

After this, Afaf’s family and church community were required to be at an “arbitration” hearing – a quasi-legal entity outside the courts – so that justice could be served upon this horrible ordeal. The final decision: Afaf’s whole community was forced to turn over their private property to the perpetrators – homes and belongings – and permanently leave their village.

As forced immigrants, some of the Copts re-settled in various parts of Egypt to begin again from scratch. Afaf’s family encouraged her to leave Egypt because it would now be nearly impossible for them to help her as they had always planned.

Afaf is almost 18 years old and now resides in a refugee camp outside of Egypt. She has nowhere to turn. She remains hopeful and firm in her resolve to create a stable life for herself. Western culture will afford her the liberty to practice her religion without fear of repercussions.

Afaf needs our help. The La Casa Futura project is the only concrete solution for Afaf on her journey to achieve her goals. Right now, she must survive the crisis she is in. As we seek to secure the La Casa Futura program for Afaf and others like her, we really need your help.

Donating $5, 10, 20, 50, 100… or more to this valuable project will make a world of difference for Afaf and others like her. Please donate today to save the futures of those who have no choice but to begin life without family or country.

Donate for La casa Futura

Thank you.

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial phase of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-22-of-22/feed/0The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series No. 21 of 22https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-21-of-22/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-21-of-22/#respondFri, 13 Jul 2018 10:51:27 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23246The following narratives introduce individuals who are detained in refugee camps. They are in desperate need of the La Casa Futura project currently underway by Voice of the Copts. Egyptian youths have been uprooted and displaced for various reasons all related to religious persecution. Names have been changed to protect identities. Narratives are based on true accounts of actual events.

Worshipers Team

At age thirteen, Muneer was a talented soccer player. In fact, he was “the king” according to the head coach of one of Egypt’s Team A professionals in Cairo who one day observed Muneer playing football with his school team. The coach invited him to come to the club for try-outs. Muneer arrived at the club at 2 pm as agreed and was directed to the locker room where he dressed and went onto the field with the competition.

Muneer managed the ball well, using his head and feet as experts watched. When the trial was done, the recruiters approached him and offered him their congratulations on becoming part of the club. After this verbal acceptance, Muneer was asked to fill out an application to make it official.

Muneer was too excited to have any reservations. He duly filled in the blanks on the form answering all the questions asked about his identity, including his religion. Prior to the paperwork, Muneer had been given the return date for his first practice.

Muneer’s dream just came true! He would follow in the footsteps of Egyptian Coptic footballer, Stephan Al Sharawy who plays for Italy’s Roma team and Mohamed Salah who was transferred from Rome team to Liverpool team of England, and is admired greatly by Muneer’s whole family.

When Muneer arrived at the club for the first practice, he ran onto the field from the locker room dressed and ready with great enthusiasm. But he was ignored by all the players, and he was snubbed by the coach. The air was ice cold.

There was only one reason for this. The minority community knew it well. Muneer suddenly remembered the registration table he brushed past entering the field. It was odd that one application form was on it. He thought nothing of it until now. Muneer exited the field all alone He knew the icy silence he received meant rejection from the team. He glanced down at the table and saw that it was his paperwork, unregistered and ready for the shredder. His worst fear was confirmed.

When Muneer returned home utterly defeated, his father took him aside. He had a true story from the past to recall to Muneer. It would make him understand that even had he been greeted and embraced this day on the field his career would have been in the hands of his nemesis.

In the 1960’s, Coptic Christian player, Ead Abed El- Malek , top footballer on Egypt’s Zamalek Team A received standing jeer’s — a smear campaign from Egyptian fans of his own team in attendance. He had just completed the perfect corner kick to score from the far field corner – the world was watching as well, and the kick went down in the annuls of world soccer, but the humiliation of Ead Abed El- Malek suffered in front of thousands as he delivered the winning play for his team was a hard lesson learned about his own country.

This now rang true for Muneer in a way that diminished all the good he had experienced in his short life. He was not free to pursue his dream and for a reason that was unacceptable to him. His father understood and supported Muneer’s decision to leave Egypt. When Muneer turned fifteen he did.

Today, Muneer resides in a refugee camp outside of Egypt. He wants to be free to succeed regardless of his religion. For the first time, he sees this as a real possibility.

Muneer needs our help to make it. If he is to remain, he will need to be prepared for independence and a new citizenship. The La Casa Futura project will assist him in doing this.

The project needs your help to help Muneer and others like him. Donating $5, 10, 25, 50, 100… or more to this vital program will serve to prepare and assimilate Egyptian youth into a new culture.

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial stage of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-21-of-22/feed/0The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series No.20 of 22https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-20-of-22/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-20-of-22/#respondTue, 10 Jul 2018 00:47:42 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23243The following narratives introduce individuals who are detained in refugee camps. They are in desperate need of the La Casa Futura project currently underway by Voice of the Copts. Egyptian youths have been uprooted and displaced for various reasons all related to religious persecution. Names have been changed to protect identities. Narratives are based on true accounts of actual events.

Final High School National test.

Alice had straight A’s in school and was an excellent test-taker. Upon completion of secondary school she prepared to take the national placement exam to determine her university program and future career. Her hard work and scholastic excellence now hinged on how well she would perform on this test. With good reason, her family and teachers expected her to score among the highest of the 675,000 exams submitted.

Alice failed the test with “zero” grades across every discipline, more than fifteen separate tests. As a matter of course, she had discussed every one of her test answers with her teachers and trusted older brother after completing each test. Her answers were perfect. In disbelief, Alice and others began to ask if the score belonged to her or to another student in error.

The procedure in place by the testing authorities of the Governor of Education Ministry ensures fairness in grading by a number system that provides anonymity. After a student is issued a number for an assigned seat she or he is provided a test booklet with the same number. The booklet is then labeled with the student’s name and address.

The booklet passes next to the department where it is individually handled to remove the name label and seating number in order to separate the identity of the owner from the test booklet. The handlers place a new number in the booklet corresponding to the seating number and name label. At the end of the process, the new number is matched to the original name, number and booklet grades.

Alice’s intelligence was the target of test handlers that make large sums of money trading low test scores for the highest ones. A bottom performer would now be credentialed with Alice’s scores for entry into the highest academic level in the profession of his or her choice. Alice was educated in private Christian schools in a Coptic community where industriousness and the corresponding rewards are always up for grabs by trolls who prey upon the minority community.

This crime caused Alice to repeat her final year of high school and test again the following year because that’s what students do when they fail. Her original goal was to major in medicine like her older brother, but in the end she had to settle for pharmacology. Meanwhile, the justice system would not investigate her claim of fraud against the testing authorities. Authorities refused to produce her test booklet as evidence when she contested the grades.

Alice’s younger brother Meina wanted to avoid the same problem when his time came up to compete for university placement since his academic record was also stellar. As hard as any person works or succeeds is inconsequential when the deck is stacked against you. As members of the wrong group an obstacle course of offences assails you, some very dangerous, and will always ensure that you have limited success in your own country.

Meina made the radical decision to leave Egypt. He would forge his future in a place that offered equality of opportunity. Competing fairly and honestly was part of his culture, and he wanted to live that way.

Meina is caught in between two countries now living in a refugee camp. He is certain he did the right thing but doesn’t quite know what is next. He has heard circulating through his refugee community that a place call La Casa Futura located north of his camp will transition him into the new culture and set him on a path for success.

Meina needs our help.The La Casa Futura project is the only concrete solution for Meina on his journey to achieve his goals. But as we seek to secure the La Casa Futura program for Meina and others like him, we really need your help.

Donating $5, 10, 20, 50, 100 or more to this valuable project will make a world of difference for Meina and others like him. Please donate today to save the futures of those who have no choice but to set upon their paths without family or country. Thank you.

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial stage of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-20-of-22/feed/0The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series No.19 of 22https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-19-of-22/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-19-of-22/#respondFri, 06 Jul 2018 00:58:59 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23234The following narratives introduce individuals who are detained in refugee camps. They are in desperate need of the La Casa Futura project currently underway by Voice of the Copts. Egyptian youths have been uprooted and displaced for various reasons all related to religious persecution. Names have been changed to protect identities. Narratives are based on true accounts of actual events.

Coptic soldier killed

Soraya’s older brother Shaker complied with the mandatory military draft and registered in the army when he was 18 years old. Soraya loved her brother and missed him when he was far away on the military campus.

One day, tragic news arrived of Shaker’s death. The military said it was suicide. It was a horrible shock to the family but all the more so because of the unlikelihood of Shaker taking his own life. Shaker was emotionally stable and very religious, suggesting a very low risk for suicide.

Suicide is virtually non-existent in the Coptic Egyptian community. Yet Shaker was not the only young soldier from the Christian community to suffer this fate while serving in the army in the span of two years. The Egyptian military declared at least eight deaths to be suicide.

None of the Coptic Christian families were allowed to see the bodies of their dead sons. To make matters worse, the military forbid autopsies. This was enough for Soraya to give up on thinking that she would ever know the truth. In agony over her loss and disgusted by the potential of military malfeasance she now readily took her parents’ advice for her future.

Shaker had always watched over his sister. As her escort, Shaker prevented her from the dangers of kidnapping. As Shaker was now gone, his parents encouraged Soraya to leave them and go outside the country to begin life in the West.

Soraya is almost 17 years old and now resides in a refugee camp outside of Egypt. She has nowhere to turn. She remains hopeful and firm in her resolve to create a decent life for herself. Western culture will afford her the liberty to practice her religion without fear of repercussions.

Soraya needs our help. The La Casa Futura project is the only concrete solution for Soraya on her journey to achieve her goals. Right now, she must survive the crisis she is in. As we seek to secure the La Casa Futura program for Soraya and others like her, we really need your help.

Donating $5, 10, 20, 50, 100… or more to this valuable project will make a world of difference for Soraya and others like her. Please donate today to save the futures of those who have no choice but to begin life without family or country.

Thank you.

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial stage of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-19-of-22/feed/0The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series No.18 of 22https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-18-of-22/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-18-of-22/#respondTue, 03 Jul 2018 13:00:31 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23231The following narratives introduce individuals who are detained in refugee camps. They are in desperate need of the La Casa Futura project currently underway by Voice of the Copts. Egyptian youths have been uprooted and displaced for various reasons all related to religious persecution. Names have been changed to protect identities. Narratives are based on true accounts of actual events.

Under arrest

Sameh’s brother Samuel is in prison with a five year sentence for a crime he did not commit. Samuel was framed. The evidence of his innocence resides in a doctor’s report presented to the court by his family’s defense attorney for his case.

Samuel was alleged to have raped a girl from a family living near his home. The accusation was categorically unfounded and should have been thrown out of court. Samuel is disabled, and his doctor’s report verified Samuel’s inability to commit this act.

Because this time Samuel was their designated “infidel” scapegoat, the courts ruled against him in a cut-and-dried case. No doubt his false accusers were ignorant of Samuel’s disability, but in the end they achieved their goal because the truth does not matter.

When it comes to minority Christians in Egypt, the courts tend to rule in favor of their religious adversaries who frame the innocent and commit false flag events. Deeply rooted religious and legalistic forces in the culture that codify hate produce jihadists who target “infidels” – innocent families like Sameh’s.

Religious-cultural reform must take place in Egypt so that conditions for human rights can improve. But Sameh sees nothing in the works to affect the needed change. So this year at age seventeen, Sameh made the brave decision to leave Egypt for the West and leave hopelessness behind.

But to move ahead he needs our help. The only tangible way for Sameh and others like him to get help is through La Casa Futura — the program to rescue Egyptian youths from refugee camps and prepare them for the future.

Please donate today to help us help Sameh and others like him. Every penny you contribute will go directly toward the La Casa Futura fund and benefit those who have nowhere else to turn.

Your gift of $5, 10, 20, 50, 100 or more will go toward helping Christian refugees receive the necessary services to gain their footing and begin again. La Casa Futura is their only answer.

Donate for La casa Futura

Thank you.

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial stage of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-18-of-22/feed/0The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series No.17 of 22https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-17-of-22/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-17-of-22/#respondFri, 29 Jun 2018 13:07:03 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23228The following narratives introduce individuals who are detained in refugee camps. They are in desperate need of the La Casa Futura project currently underway by Voice of the Copts. Egyptian youths have been uprooted and displaced for various reasons all related to religious persecution. Names have been changed to protect identities. Narratives are based on true accounts of actual events.

Fady’s father owned a neighborhood pharmacy in a small town in the region south of Cairo. It was a well-established business when a new pharmacy opened on the same street. One day, shortly after it opened, Fady’s neighbors paid his father a visit to his store.

Coming back from the mosque after Friday afternoon prayers, the religious folk brought baseball bats to Fady’s father’s store during business hours. They bashed in the windows, raced into the store, ransacked the interior and seized whole shelves of drugs.

The criminals did not select their target at random but intentionally demolished this minority business as so often jihadists do in order to instill fear, destroy minority economics in favor of the majority and marginalize the “infidels.”

Coupled with a judicial system of institutionalized prejudice, this act of violence closing Fady’s father’s business would allow authorities to withhold the re-issuing of the license needed by Fady’s family to reopen the store. Fady and his family lost their livelihood in the same way so many industrious Copts do from the community.

Fady saw his father’s investment gone. He saw the investments of others like his father devastated time and time again. Now, he would never takeover his father’s role. Instead, he will begin his life in the West where justice is served. Crimes are investigated and criminals prosecuted rather than integrated into a system of minority oppression.

Today, Fady is settled in a temporary camp outside Egypt without his family. He still feels it is worth the risk he took even though a refugee camp offers little hope. His whole life is before him, and he’s glad to be out of danger. He wants no special favors, but only to assimilate and become a part of a culture where minorities are equal and violence is unacceptable.

Please help us to help Fady and others like him start their path on the right footing for success. La Casa Futura is a program for providing the tools to begin again. Fady is willing to learn the native language, and La Casa Futura will teach him. Fady is willing to learn new skills, and La Casa Futura will provide this. Fady is willing to understand and accept the culture of his new country, and La Casa Futura will help him do this.

Please donate today. Any amount — $5, 10, 20, 50, 100 or more — will help us to save the lives of young men and women who have nowhere else to turn but La Casa Futura!

Please go to the GoFundMe link below and donate today. Thank you.

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial stage of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

]]>https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/reports/the-personal-stories-of-egyptian-refugees-series-no-17-of-22/feed/0Europe’s earthquake is underwayhttps://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/op-eds/europes-earthquake-is-underway/
https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/categories/op-eds/europes-earthquake-is-underway/#respondSat, 23 Jun 2018 15:15:16 +0000https://www.voiceofthecopts.org/?p=23221Europe has more sharia courts and veiled women, less unaccompanied women it its cities at night and less cartoons of Muhammad.

September 11, 2001 was supposed to be “the day on which everything changed”. After 17 years of Western military occupation, the Taliban control more territory in Afghanistan than in any time since the invasion of the US troops.

After 17 years of uncontrolled Islamic immigration, Europe has more sharia courts, more refugees, more veiled women, more schools dominated by Muslims, more mosques, more minarets, more genital mutilation, more Muslim Brotherhood, more Muslim mayors, and less churches, less Jews, less unaccompanied women in the cities at night, less cartoons of Muhammad.

Multiculturalism favors Third World cultures over Western culture. Much of the public speech today in Europe is dedicated to the infinite reading of the crimes of the West and of the evil that Israel represents. In the meantime, the contributions of the West to humanity – democracy, scientific revolution, human beings and industrial revolution – are diminished or marginalized. Europe has condemned itself to a permanent state of siege.

A double religious-demographic earthquake is underway. The Muslim populations of the Western countries are growing significantly in recent decades and continue to grow disproportionately due to external immigration and internal fertility rates. The Christian populations in Muslim countries continue to collapse due to the oppression that causes mass emigration. So, both Europe and the Middle East are becoming more Islamic.

One day, perhaps, the European governments will begin to negotiate with the Islamic organizations the terms of a surrender about the place of Islam in public life, proliferation of mosques, freedom of immigration, dismantling of Western lifestyle, halal menus at schools, removal of Christian symbols, withdrawal of troops from the Middle East, end of support for Israel … it will happen in a manner that the population doesn’t even notice. But isn’t already happening?

The second scenario is internal chaos. Now there is an attempt to reverse the trend on immigration. In Italy, the new populist government just blocked a ship with 629 migrants. They landed in Spain. The entire Eastern Europe – led by Hungarian Viktor Orban – is based on an anti-immigration consensus, which has been joined by Austria too. A crisis on migrants is underway inside Angela Merkel’s government.

All this crisis is due to mass immigration, the single most explosive issue in Europe’s past, present and future. If Europe becomes more “cruel” – as defined in accordance with the new humanitarian standards – it might save itself. Otherwise, Europe will become Eurabia.

Giulio Meotti

Giulio Meotti
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book “A New Shoah”, that researched the personal stories of Israel’s terror victims, published by Encounter and of “J’Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel” published by Mantua Books.. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary.